Race-course for automobiles.



N0. 809,588. PATENTED JAN. 9, 1906. J. B. THOMAS & J. LYNCH. RACE COURSE POR AUTOMOBILES APPLICATION FILED Amm. 1905.

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5 mondo/uf @MA f5 Y1-w- No. 809,588. PATENTED JAN. 9, 1906.

J. B. THOMAS & J. LYNCH.

RAGE COURSE POB. AUTOMOBILES..

APPLICATION FILED APB..1, 1905.

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. I l i' um, A f nA wm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. THOMAS AND JASPER LYNCH, OF LAKEWOOD, NEN JERSEY.

RACE-COURSE FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1906.

Application iiled April ll 1905. Serial No. 253,274.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN B. THOMAS and JASPER LYNCH, citizens of the United States, residing at Lakewood, Ocean county, New Jersey, have invented a Race-Course for Automobiles, of which the following is a speciiication.

A race-course for automobiles in order to be practical and to enable a fair speed test to be made should be at least five miles in length. As such race-courses are sometimes constructed-namely, in a straight line-the entire race is not within full view of the spectators in the grand-stand, and more particularly the start and the finish cannot bev easily observed by any one spectator. A circular or oval track has the disadvantage of requiring a large area for its formation.

The object of our invention is to form a race-course for automobiles which will reduce the area of ground required for its formation and which will be within close range of the judges as well as the spectators at all times and will enable the automobiles to pass the observers at the grand-stand several times in the race.

Our race-course is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective of the grand-stand and a portion of the race-course; Fig. 2, a plan view of the grand-stand and track, and Fig. 3 a cross-section of the grandstand and a portion of the track on the line 8 3 of Fig. 2.

Our race-track proper consists of two straight portions A and B, of which B crosses A by means of a bridge C. D D D D are looped portions of my track which connect the .two straight portions of the track. For the sake of convenience we term A the depressed portion of the track and B the raised portion of the track, in order to indicate that the central portion of the track B crosses the central portion of the track A at an elevation sufficient to enable automobiles to pass on track A under track B. Any arrangement of the tracks A and B with reference to the normal level of the ground on which the course is built may be adopted either by actually building the track A in part lower than the normal level of the ground or by raising a portion ofthe track B above the normal level of the ground as long as the main purpose is observed of having the tracks cross at different levels.

E E denote division-marks which are placed along the central lines of the straight portions of the track in order to divide the same lengthwise into two parts. These marks may be fences, ropes, or other devices, but are preferably strips of sod or on the bridge portion lines of low boards or merely lines of whitewash. l/Ve prefer sod, as the danger of accidents is minimized in case an automobile is badly steered and runs across the central portion of the course.

It will be noted that the straight portions of the track, as shown, constitute in practice two separate tracks. These straight portions of the track are preferably twice as wide as the looped portions, so that automobiles may pass on each side of the dividin line in opposite directions.

The starting-point may be arranged, o course, at any portion of the track, but preferably at one end of one of the straight portions-as, for instance, at line x Fig. 2. The start being made in the right-hand portion of the straight track A, the course is in the direction of the arrows around the loop D on the right-hand portion of the track B, over the bridge C, around the loop D', down the left-hand portion of the track A, around the loop D, then along the right-hand portion of the track B around the loop D back to the starting-point.

It will be noted that the automobiles from start to finish never reach the same portion of the track twice, although they reach the center of the field four times. The middle of the track, which in practice is about fifty feet, making a width of one hundred feet at the straight portions, is suiiicient to make the looped portions for all practical purposes a series Aof straight tracks joined at a slight angle.

Around the central portion of the track we build our grand-stand, which consists in the main of four bridges, of which two span the part A of the track and two span the part of the track at a suflicient height to enable automobiles to pass along said portions of the track. These bridges are connected by passages of any desired construction, stairways or other inclined means of communication being necessary in the specific form shown in the drawings to connect the bridges spanning the depressed trackwith the bridges spanning the raised track. The bridges spanning the depressed track are preferably arranged at a distance from the bridge so that a space is left between that portion of By this arthe grand-stand and the track.

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rangement of our grand-stand the safety of the spectators is assured, the spectators being either above or so far on one side of the track that any chance of their coming into contact with the racing automobiles is eliminated.

What we claim as our invention isl. A race-track for automobiles, comprising two straight portions crossing one another at different levels, each end of each straight portion being connected with each end of the other portion by means of loops.

2. A race-track for automobiles, comprising two straight portions crossing one another at diilerent levels, each end of each straight portion being connected with each end of the other portion by means ol loops, the straight portions being at least twice as wide as the looped portions.

3. A race-track for automobiles, comprising a plurality of track portions crossing at di'lferent levels, and loops connecting said track portions, there being a plurality of loops each having one end connected with the same end of one of the crossing track portions.

4. A race-track for automobiles, comprising two tracks crossing at diierent levels, means for joining the ends, and a grandstand built around the crossing-point of the two tracks.

5. In a race-track for automobiles, two tracks crossing at a diilerent level, a grandstand consisting of one or more bridges spanning each track, and means Jfor connecting the ends of the bridges.

6. A race-track for automobiles, comprising a track portion, a plurality of tracks crossing such track portion and each arranged at a level different from that oi' the track portion, and dissociated loops con-necting said tracks with the track portion and forming a continuous course therewith.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN B. THOMAS. JASPER LYNCH.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM H. BLYMYER, FRITZ v. BRIEsEN. 

